Effects of Two Natural Bisbenzylisoquinolines,Curine and Guattegaumerine,Extracted from Isolona hexaloba on Rhodamine Efflux by Abcb1b from Rat Glycocholic-Acid-Resistant Hepatocarcinoma Cells

To develop new therapeutic molecules, it is essential to understand the biological effects and targets of clinically relevant compounds. In this article, we describe the extraction and characterization of two alkaloids from the roots of Isolona hexaloba—curine and guattegaumerine. The effect of these alkaloids on the multidrug efflux pump ABCB1 (MDR1/P-Glycoprotein) and their antiproliferative properties were studied. Compared to verapamil, a widely used inhibitor of P-gp, curine and guattegaumerine were found to be weak inhibitors of MDR1/P-Glycoprotein. The highest inhibition of efflux produced by verapamil disappeared in the presence of curine or guattegaumerine as competitors, and the most pronounced effect was achieved with curine. Altogether, this work has provided new insights into the biological effects of these alkaloids on the rat Mdr1b P-gp efflux mechanism and would be beneficial in the design of potent P-gp inhibitors.     

Transport and percolation in a low-density high-mobility two-dimensional hole system

We present a study of the temperature and density dependence of the resistivity of an extremely high quality two-dimensional hole system grown on the (100) surface of GaAs. For high densities in the metallic regime (p > or approximately4x10;{9} cm;{-2}), the nonmonotonic temperature dependence ( approximately 50-300 mK) of the resistivity is consistent with temperature dependent screening of residual impurities. At a fixed temperature of T=50 mK, the conductivity versus density data indicate an inhomogeneity driven percolation-type transition to an insulating state at a critical density of 3.8x10;{9} cm;{-2}.     

Frequency response subtraction for simple measurement of intrinsiclaser dynamic properties

The authors describe a new technique for extracting the intrinsic laser-diode dynamic properties accurately. This simple technique eliminates the need for accurate microwave calibration of the test equipment and problems of microwave reflections, nonideal frequency response of laser mount, and detector. The effect of the parasitic components of the laser diode are also eliminated from the results so that measurements of important dynamic properties of the laser can be found up to high frequencies (10-20 GHz) on standard laser diodes. The techinque being used to measure variations of resonance peak and damping factor at different bias levels for a standard bulk active region 1.3 μm laser diode is shown     

Nanocrystalline Metal Oxides from the Injection of Metal Oxide Sols in Coordinating Solutions: Synthesis,Characterization, Thermal Stabilization,Device Processing,and Gas‐Sensing Properties

Metal oxide (SnO₂, TiO₂, In₂O₃, ZnO) sols are prepared by various sol–gel processes in such a way as to hinder the condensation reactions. The obtained sols are injected at 160 °C into a solution of tetradecene and dodecylamine, and kept under heating for different periods of time. Depending on the starting sol, variously crystallized oxide nanoparticles are obtained, whose phase compositions and chemical structure have been studied by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform IR spectroscopy. The elimination of the organic residuals has been carried out by thermal treatment, and the thermal evolution of the nanoparticles has been studied by thermal analyses and Raman spectroscopy. High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy studies coupled with XRD measurements show that the thermal treatment does not markedly affect the particle size, which remains in the nanometer‐sized regime (from 3.5 to 8.5 nm, depending on the system), except in the case of ZnO. The thermally purified and stabilized powders, drop‐coated onto alumina substrates with pre‐deposited electrical contacts, have been tested as gas‐sensing devices, displaying outstanding sensing properties even at room temperature.     

High output power single longitudinal mode graded index separateconfinement multiple quantum well InGaAs/InP distributed feedback (GRINSCH MQW DFB) lasers

A high continuous-wave (CW) output and high quantum efficiency of 1.5 μm-wavelength InGaAs/InP graded-index separate-confinement multiple-quantum-well DFB lasers were demonstrated. A threshold current of 45 mA with a maximum output power close to 100 mW and a quantum efficiency of 0.33 mW/mA was obtained. Single-frequency light output with power as high as 16 dBm (40 mW) was launched into a single-mode fiber     

Television images and adolescent girls' body image disturbance

The impact of media images on adolescents' body image and thin ideal endorsement has been consistently asserted in the body image literature, yet has remained inadequately tested. I used social comparison theory and critical viewing with a sample of 214 high school girls to predict adolescents' body-image disturbance and thin ideal endorsement. Media variables accounted fr 15% of the variance for drive for thinness, 17% for body dissatisfaction, 16% for bulimic behaviors, and 33% for thin ideal endorsement. Results suggest that body image processing is the boy to understanding how television images affect adolescent girls' body-image attitudes and behaviors.     

Degradation Thermique des Polystyrenes et du Polychlorure de Vinyle : Application d'une Matrice d'experiences a l'etude de l'influence des Parametres de l'analyse Thermomanometrique. Partie I : Exploitation des résultats par traitement mathématique

Thermal degradation of polystyrene and polyvinylchloride was studied by thermomanometric analysis. A design of experiments was used to quantify the influence of 8 physico-chemical parameters on the responses of the analyser and on the different types of degradation compounds. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

High temperature operation of lattice matched and strained InGaAs-InP quantum well lasers

The temperature dependence of lattice matched and strained InGaAs-InP quantum well lasers operating between 1.48 and 1.56 mu m is described. Devices grown under tensile and compressive strain, with an In concentration in the range of 0.43>     

DYNGA: a general purpose QM-MM-MD program. I. Application to water

We present a general purpose QM-MM-MD engine (DYNGA) designed to test alternative hybrid Hamiltonians geared towards the treatment of problems of interest in structural biology including the use of experimental data constraints. In this first presentation we use DYNGA to explore the behaviour of a traditional QM-MM approach in the treatment of the water—water interaction. We find the potential energy hypersurface for the water dimer computed with the HF 4–31G*/TIP3P hybrid Hamiltonian tends to be too flat. We also explore the effect of using traditional QM-MM techniques on proton wires and conclude there is a need for improvement, possibly addressed by using polarizable force fields.     

Tunable electroabsorption modulated laser integrated with a bent waveguide distributed-feedback laser

The fabrication of the first 1.55-/spl mu/m wavelength tunable electroabsorption modulated laser integrated with a bent waveguide distributed-feedback laser is reported. A low-threshold and stable single-mode operation is obtained when the devices were uniformly pumped. A single-mode output power close to 10 mW from a single-mode fiber (40 mW in free space) is obtained with a 0 V bias to the modulator and an extinction ratio of up to 15 dB at 2.5 V. This single mode stability is due to the continuously distributed phase shift implemented in the structure. With a nonuniform injection, it was possible to select one particular mode out of the three neighboring modes inside the broad-reflection band of the reflector. A tuning range of 3.5 mm was obtained while maintaining an output power of more than 2 dBm from each mode.